Our Mission
Create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.
Our Vision
All youth achieve their full potential.
Our People
We are headquartered in San Francisco, with local offices in Oakland, Milpitas, and American Canyon. In addition to maintaining the dedicated services of more than a thousand matches, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area employs over two dozen staff members who support matches in all nine counties.
Lillian Samuel, MNA
Chief Executive OfficerLillian Samuel has worked in the nonprofit philanthropic sector for over 15 years serving in leadership roles in health care, higher education and youth serving organizations. She has raised over $50 million dollars as a Director of Development for a large nonprofit health center, Major Gift Officer for the top public medical university in the country, as a volunteer for several organizations including her alma mater and most recently as the Chief Philanthropy/Development Officer for Girl Scouts of Northern California.
Lillian began her career as a retail executive where she was a buyer for Bloomingdales in New York City, The Gap in San Francisco, Cost Plus World Market and Duty Free Shoppers (DFS), a division of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy. She transitioned to the nonprofit sector after years as a volunteer Board member and fundraiser. Her passion has always been to lift up her community and work in a way that makes an impact. Her vision is to reach every child that desires a mentor.
Lillian holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a MA in Nonprofit Management from the University of San Francisco.
Rahwa Abraham-Tesfay
Human Resources and Operations Manager(415) 503-3939
Alyssa Belt
Marketing & Communications Manager(415) 952-9877
Adrianna Larson
Manager of Donor Relations(415) 854-7365
Marynoelyn Jacob-Oviatt
Program Supervisor (Milpitas)408-318-2333
Anna Carrizales
Enrollment & Match Specialist (Milpitas)408-206-6085
Arthelle Porter Burns
Match Support Specialist (American Canyon)707-215-5015
Brandi Hamilton
Match Support Specialist (San Francisco)415-503-4035
Camila Nunez
Match Support Specialist (Milpitas)(408) 655-0228
Elizabeth Garcia-Navarro
Match Support Specialist (American Canyon)707-215-5017
Ginger Luna
Enrollment & Match Specialist (Oakland)510-414-9645
Hector Amaya
Match Support Specialist (Oakland)(510) 846-8431
Melissa Garcia
Customer Relations Specialist(415) 503-4034
Vanessa Dominguez
Match Support Specialist (San Francisco)415-503-4053
Board of Directors
CJ Babb, Pando
Andrew Barnette, East West Bank
Mike Campbell, BDO
Martha Ehmann Conte
Michael D’Onofrio
Paul Dalzell, Bessemer Trust
Tom DeJonghe, Retired, Chevron Corporation
Katie Dignan, Kairos Power
Christine Flores, Pinterest
Chris Fragakis, Wells Fargo Securities
Alex Grebenschikov, AppDynamics
Paul Greenall, Prophet
Shelly Hale
Majd Khleif, Syserco, Inc.
Jay Kim, Major, Lindsey & Africa
Jeff Kragel, Berstein Global Wealth Management
Todd Lachman, Sovos Brands
Marc Lopez, IBM/Taos, Write Brain World Advisory
Chris McClure, Lincoln Financial Advisors
Priya Rajan, Silicon Valley Bank
Gina Sheibley, Qualtrics
Alka Singal, Dodge & Cox
Tanaz Sowdagar, Akamai Technologies
Seth Tator, Salesforce
Charles Taylor
Aaron Vermut
Dan Wire, FireEye Inc
Jonathan Wright, Endurance Companies
Community Boards
Community Partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area provide the opportunity for employees or members of your organization to volunteer in the community. Our volunteer programs also build teamwork and employee engagement.
Community Boards strengthen ties in local areas and help raise funds and awareness through events that attract a diverse network throughout the Bay Area.
Join the fun, all while helping support mentoring for Bay Area kids!
Junior Board
The Junior Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area is a group of young Bay Area professionals dedicated to raising funds and awareness to support our mission. Members commit to meeting a committee fundraising goal, attending one meeting each month and participating in the planning and promotion of our signature events. Connect and stay up to date with the Junior Board via Facebook or email for more info about joining the board or the next event.
South Bay Advisory Council
The South Bay Advisory Council engages the Silicon Valley community, meeting monthly to organize activities for South Bay Littles and Bigs, bolstering recruiting efforts, and conducting fundraising events that provide vital support for our agency’s mission. Membership entails a one-year commitment to attend meetings and events. To get involved, contact us at sbac.membership@bbbsba.org.
East Bay Advisory Council
This group of volunteers focuses on recruiting men of color so that we can better support the specific needs of our waiting Littles in the region. The Council helps to identify resources necessary to better serve the community, including securing meeting space, dedicated fundraising support, and frequent East Bay community feedback. To get involved, contact us at ebac.membership@bbbsba.org.
Our History
For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes and monitors meaningful matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 – 18, in communities across the country to develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect.
Bay Area Wide
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area has been providing Bay Area kids with professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships since 1958, gradually growing to represent all of the Bay Area regions, at large.
With the first major Bay Area merger in 2006, three separate Big Brother Big Sister organizations — San Francisco & Peninsula, East Bay, and Santa Clara County — integrated into Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area to more efficiently serve the community and meet the increasing demand for services.
In 2017, we merged with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the North Bay, which had been serving children in Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano Counties since 1970, to further streamline resources. Effectively reaching the entire Greater Bay Area as a unified organization, we now serve children from nine counties in the Greater Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma.
Financial Statements
Your financial support helps kids to realize their potential, one relationship at a time.
The documents below provide detail of our carefully managed financial status. Every local Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliate is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with its own IRS Form 990 and audited financial statements.
Careers
Make a Big Difference in the Lives of Bay Area Kids
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area is an exciting, fast growing non-profit with heart-felt goals. We’re committed to building a great staff: we offer a good benefits, competitive wages, and of course, a job that matters.